Awhile back in this thread some excellent suggestions were given to make the diapering forum more user friendly. note: Please read towards the end of the thread before replying (if you choose to). Many issues were well resolved by the end of the thread.

Originally, I was undecided about what I thought would be the best solution. After giving it a lot of thought and re-reading the thread I think the issue deserves to be revisited. The diapering mods expressed approval of the ideas, but nothing has been done or talked about in quite awhile.

I have gone from frugal diapering to hyena diapering and back to frugal diapering again. I think both are wonderful as long as they meet the needs of the individual. Both ends of the spectrum provide many opportunities for discussion. I would love to see a seperate forum for mamas and papas to talk about the more simple aspects of diapering. In the current diaper chat forum there are so many threads buzzing about stockings and auctions and how to tweak a persons stash etc.... Those are valid threads and I'm glad they are hosted! Sadly, I see many threads being over looked about prefolds, or needing washing tips or just plain wanting to talk about how to diaper on a budget. I also think that a forum for these topics would be a great place to talk about how to further the efforts of the real diaper association.

My main concern is that a new member will come looking for support and simple information and leave frustrated. I've been spending my day searching as far back as page 2 and 3 trying to find threads about simple topics and those from new members. It takes a concerted effort to find and reply to these threads. If they had their own home, I believe it would be much easier to meet this great need.

Here are a few of the highlights for those who don't want to trudge through the entire thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by fullofgrace
I also like the idea of breaking it up into Diaper Chat forums based on diapering TOPIC, not based on the type of diaperer one is.

Some ideas to toss out....

Stalk the Stock -- Who's stocking, when, what you wanna buy, what you bought, what you plan on buying, etc.

Show & Tell -- Show us us pics of your newest fluff, your latest diaper craving, what you snagged on ebay, etc.

Diapering on a Dime -- How to get the best diaperbang for your buck.

Back to Basics -- Our lives are frittered away by detail... diaper simplicity, diaper simplicity. (Henry David Thoreau, with a diapering twist)

Originally Posted by wolfmama
i do think that one forum for questions and then another for stalking/stocking/pictures would be good...
oh, and maybe diaper making could be a subforum under diapering as well. i think that would be a great way for people to see what they can make...

Quote:

Originally Posted by momma2emerson
I can see how having a diapering 101 (questions, laundry issues, how to fold a flat, etc) separate from a stalking stockings/showoff forum could make sense. I think it would be nice if somehow the diaper making forum could be crosslisted so that it showed up under both crafts and diapers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfmama
this is great.

now if we could just get the thread locked so nobody can disagree. :LOL

Definitly a great idea! I quit going to the diaper forum because there was just so much traffic. By the time I responded to a post it went from the top down to the bottom of the page. Not to mention that there were 2 - 3 threads going on that were the exact same topic, but they were just getting lost in the shuffel. And so much easier for new people. When I first came here there wasn't even a quarter of the traffic that is here now, and I had a hard time then. I can't imagine jumping into that mess when I was trying to learn about CDing.

All I have to say is YAHOO! I almost gave up on the idea of CDing because it was just too much info going way too fast. I think it's all good, but this will help those beginners out and help relieve a lot of stress!

I may have joined MDC a year or two earlier had the Diapering Basics forum existed when I first switched ds to cloth. I found the link to Mothering (along with a zillion other diapering links) and decided that the Diapering forum here was just TOO big and overwhelming, so I got involved with a much smaller diapering forum on another site.

I'm getting started with this but stumbling over the various subforum ideas. I don't think we really need different subforums to split up the stalking & stocking, charity talk, fluffy mail, show-off threads from one another.

Anyone have a suggestion for an all-encompassing title for such a subforum?

Definitly a great idea! I quit going to the diaper forum because there was just so much traffic. By the time I responded to a post it went from the top down to the bottom of the page. Not to mention that there were 2 - 3 threads going on that were the exact same topic, but they were just getting lost in the shuffel. And so much easier for new people. .

I actually avoid the scroll down because it can be overwhelming. It's hard to refer someone there because I don't know how to begin to tell them how to get started there.

Michelle, vegan mama to my two sweeties, L, 4/21/04 and C, 10/29/06 married to my Bryce for 20 years.

Chat unrelated to basic advice and also unrelated to shopping? Look at my stash threads, the fun questions like "why did you start CD-ing" or "what's your favorite cover", have you tried this sewing pattern, things like that?

I think it's fine to have a forum for newbie/diapering101/basic questions. I just want to say that when such threads are posted in the main diapering forum, they *do* get replied to. I've seen a lot of people get a lot of great advice. I wonder if hiding such threads away in a subforum that contains nothing but other newbie/diapering101/basic questions would be the best way to get the most replies from experienced diaperers. Also, I wouldn't say that the main diapering forum has been particularly fast/busy lately, actually. Usually threads whose final reply was posted over 7 hrs ago are still on page one.

-Alice, SAHM to dd (2001) and ds (2004) each of whom was a , who each self-weaned at 4.5 years , who both 'd, who were both, and both: . Also, , and !

The plan is to reorganize. The main Diapering forum would become a category name only with no posting to it. Main discussion forums would be the two we are talking about - Diapering Basics and whatever other title we come up with that would host the usual discussions that are not about diapering basics.

Our current thinking is that we will add two new subforums forums, one for Diapering Basics that will discuss the more technical aspects of diapering such as wash routines, getting started, overcoming problems, etc. and another subforum that will cater to the fun part of Diapering like stockings, show offs, fluffy mail, auctions and other diapering related chit chat. I stress Diapering related because topics that should go to other forums on MDC should still be appropriately placed.

Does this sound like the direction that most of us are wanting to go in?

I think that sounds fine but I think if you call a forum "Diapering Basics" people will think it's just for newbies and beginners and questions will sit there unaswered too.

Personally, I think there should be a "Diapering" forum, and a "Hyenas" forum for hyena-specific stuff. The Hyena forum would be for hyenas to hang out in, and the diapering forum would be for everyone else.

I'm a newbie and I wasn't here when everything started but I don't understand why it even needs to be changed. I like it the way that it is. I post to all kids of posts if it's something that I can help with but I'm new to cd'ing and don't have a lot to add.